Mark Whitaker out at CNN

1/29/13 9:15 AM EST

CNN executive vice president and managing editor Mark Whitaker has announced that he is stepping down in order to give Jeff Zucker, the new president, room to "communicate one clear vision" for the network's future.

"[W]ith Jeff Zucker’s arrival, we have a new leader with his own forceful ideas about where to take CNN’s reporting, programming and brand," Whitaker wrote in an email to CNN staff. "For him to succeed, I believe he deserves his own team and management structure and the freedom to communicate one clear vision to the staff. I have shared that conclusion with him and he has agreed to let me step down as Managing Editor and move on from CNN."

Whitaker, who joined CNN Worldwide in 2011 as Managing Editor for all TV and digital platforms, formerly served at NBC News as senior vice president and Washington bureau chief. Prior to that, he was editor-in-chief of new ventures in the Washington Post's digital division; before that, he served as an editor at Newsweek. Whitaker did not announce his next move.

Among his accomplishments at CNN, Whitaker credited himself with attracting much of its new talent, including Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper, who joined the network from ABC News; Ryan Lizza, the D.C.-based New Yorker staff writer; and ESPN sports reporter Rachel Nichols.

Whitaker also expressed confidence in Zucker's ability to turn the struggling network around.

"As someone who worked with Jeff at NBC, I know what a bold innovator he is, and I wish him and you all the best as you embark on CNN’s next great adventure," he wrote.